1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to fibre channel networks. More specifically, the present invention relates to methods and apparatus for determining characteristics associated with particular routes in fibre channel networks.
2. Description of Related Art
Methods and apparatus for determining route characteristics in fibre channel network are limited. Many fibre channel networks lack efficient mechanisms for performing functions such as determining connectivity to a destination, understanding the path followed by a specific data flow, evaluating the latency of each hop, tracing a route, etc.
It is therefore desirable to provide additional methods and apparatus for improving the determination of route characteristics in fibre channel networks with respect to some or all of the performance limitations noted above.